Remembering Daisy
by Zyii
Summary: Everyone has heard of Maid Marion, no one ever heard of her cousin. This is the story of Daisy, Robin Hood's true love. [Robin/OC]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood BBC, only my original character Daisy**

AN: This Robin Hood story has three parts to it, separated by five or six chapters to a part. There will be Marion bashing in it - you have been warned! ~ Zyii

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**Part One: The Beginning**

**1:1**

Three months, she'd been here for three months and already life had changed so much. She'd come from Leicester to live with her Uncle and Cousin in Nottingham after she'd become an orphan. Alone, the only option had been to move in with her remaining family as she was not married and therefore had no man to support her. She was considered small for her age, her cousin Marion was two years older than her, had a mouth that tended to run away from her and a level of beauty that was admired by all. Next to Marion no one noticed Daisy.

Daisy stood at a mere five foot seven inches, she had pale blonde hair and green eyes. She felt repressed and caged in her Uncle's house, he used to be the Sheriff of Nottingham but now he was afraid of his own voice. He thinks it's ok to blindly follow to stay alive. Marion thinks it's better to pretend to conform but secretly sneak out at night to help the poor. Daisy thinks it's better to be yourself and live for what you believe in regardless of the consequences. It's probably why her Uncle doesn't allow her to accompany him to Nottingham.

Daisy has remained in a cage since she arrived at Nottingham; the furthest she's gone has been the garden surrounding the house. Daisy understood that her mouth often got her in trouble but she knew the reality of the situation was that her Uncle didn't want the Sheriff knowing about Daisy and by extension her now deceased parents. Her parents were quite vocal in their loyalty to King Richard and their hatred for Prince John. The only talk she hears is from Marion and then it's either moaning about Sir Guy or Robin Hood [the outlaw] who apparently has feelings for Marion.

Gosh Daisy would like to meet Robin Hood, it was said that he bought hope to many people and she wished that he could instil some of that hope into her as well. Alas as she wasn't allowed from the house she doubted she'd ever meet him. It wasn't like he was going to come to her…

Her cousin and Uncle had gone to Nottingham again, leaving Daisy with strict instructions not to leave the house. She was in half a mind to disobey the order. She wasn't stupid and knew that mouthing off in public wasn't a great idea, she knew she could handle herself outside of the four walls of this house. She'd been reading a book when the quietness of the house was disturbed. At first she thought that her Uncle and cousin had returned but the footfalls had been too light and quiet for two people.

Then she panicked thinking that it was a thief that had come to rob the house, so she picked up the first available weapon she could find, which happened to be a rolling pin and waited in a darkened corner for the thief to come knocking. He appeared silently and cautiously like he was afraid others would notice him. He wore forest coloured clothes, had sandy brown hair and carried an intricately designed bow and arrow. He leaped effortlessly through the small window in the upstairs library. He was obviously searching for something and Daisy felt her fear momentarily leave her, he didn't look particularly dangerous.

"Are you here to rob us?" she asked.

He didn't even jump at her voice but merely turned to face her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Says the intruder in the house" she quipped.

He smiled "I am sorry but I have never seen you before" he said.

"You wouldn't have had a chance to, my Uncle has forbidden me from leaving the house" she said bitterly.

"Your Uncle? That would make"

"Marion my cousin" she finished.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

"Three months" she replied.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"What's yours?" she countered.

"I am Robin Hood" he said simply.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Really" he replied "now will you tell me your name?" he asked.

"Daisy" she said.

"Beautiful" he murmured "tell me, why your Uncle forbids you from leaving the house?" he asked.

"He believes my opinions unwise" she said.

"What are your opinions?" he asked.

"That you should follow what you believe in regardless of the consequences" she said proudly.

"You know that's what got me into trouble the first time!" he laughed.

She giggled.

Then they heard the tale tail sign of a carriage approaching.

"I must go" he said.

"Will you come back and visit?" she asked.

He looked apprehensive.

"Please, you've given me such hope already" she said.

He nodded and with a jump was gone.

Daisy took a few deep breaths and, remembering she was still holding the rolling pin, promptly dropped it. The loud noise it made had her scurrying to put it in it's appropriate place before she was caught.

Trying to look innocent, she picked up the book she'd been reading before and sat back down in a chair. They arrived with a slam of the door and raised voices, clearly something had happened and Daisy suspected that it had something to do with Marion's loose mouth.

"Marion, come here!" shouted her Uncle.

"No" replied Marion running up the stairs and slamming her door behind her.

"Daisy, come down here!"

Daisy gulped, her Uncle did not sound happy and she rushed down the stairs – making sure she looked appropriate as she did – and walked quietly into the room that her Uncle sat in. She coughed lightly to announce her presence.

"Ah Daisy, tomorrow you must come with me to Nottingham Castle" he said seriously.

"Why Uncle, I thought you didn't want me anywhere near there" she replied.

"It seems we have no choice now that Marion has announced your presence to the Sheriff. He was most put out and thinks we've been deliberately hiding you from him. He now demands to see you" said her Uncle.

"Why would Marion do that?" asked Daisy.

"I suggest you ask her. Please, when we go to Nottingham tomorrow, mind your manners. I know you have strong beliefs but they will not be valued by the Sheriff. Please don't do anything that will put your life in danger" he pleaded.

She nodded "I shall try Uncle".

He looked at her, a friendly smile upon his face, he knew she would try to remain safe.

She excused herself and walked upstairs in search of her cousin. Marion's door was shut but she knocked anyway.

"Please leave me alone Father" she said.

Daisy ignored her comment and walked into the room.

"Why did you do it?" asked Daisy.

"I thought you'd be happy you're finally able to leave the house" said Marion.

"Less than great circumstances being summoned to Nottingham though, what happened to push you over the edge?" asked Daisy.

"As if I would reveal any of Robin Hood's secrets, poor Sir Guy, blinded by his pathetic emotions" she said bitterly.

"So you sacrificed your own cousin instead" said Daisy.

"I don't understand what the problem is, you wanted to get out, and now you can" said Marion.

"That's exactly the point, you don't understand" replied Daisy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own BBC Robin Hood; only my original character Daisy.**

**1:2**

That morning Daisy woke up feeling nervous for the first time in three months. Things were finally happening but she couldn't decide if the developments were good or not. Of course meeting Robin Hood was good and with his handsome good looks, she understood why women fell at his feet. Except for Marion, she seemed happy that he held her in high regard – and Daisy knew that before Robin had left for the holy land, they'd been engaged = but from what Daisy could see, Marion didn't seem to return any feelings that Robin had for her.

For her trip to Nottingham she'd chosen to wear a forest green crushed velvet dress. The bodice was tight, the skirt flared out and the sleeves were long ending at her wrists. She'd left most of her blonde hair loose and free but she tied up the most unruly bits.

It turned out that Marion was not to accompany them to Nottingham. Daisy summarised that this was either because her Uncle had forbidden Marion from joining them or because the Sheriff had declined her presence. However, as she climbed into the carriage after her Uncle she wished that she had seen Robin Hood that morning as he would surely have soothed her nerves.

As they closed in on Nottingham town, Daisy was struck by how gloomy and menacing the castle was. Nottingham town was full of unhappy people doing their best at making a living in their small houses and ragged clothes. For the first time Daisy was struck with what real poverty was. She'd seen the poor in Leicester but never to this degree.

When the carriage pulled up outside of the castle, Daisy was reminded of how much she detested carriages and how much she preferred the freedom of a horse. However, her Uncle was now too weak to ride a horse so the carriage was more of a necessity for his health.

They weren't important enough to be met at the gates and were led to an extravagant hall by a solider. The Sheriff was sitting in the middle of the room with an elaborate display of food laid out on a table before them. The Sheriff was a short man with an unpleasant expression on his face, his hair had all but disappeared and he was well on his way to getting a plump belly from all the food he was consuming. To the right of him stood a surly man dressed completely in black leather. He wore a black belt and on the belt he carried a sword, and with the way one of his hands rested on the hilt of the sword, you knew he meant business.

"Ahh, the secret is revealed" said the Sheriff.

Daisy wasn't sure what he meant so she went with what was proper: curtsying before the Sheriff.

"At least this one has manners. What is your name? Who are you?"

"I am Daisy Cossu, my Father was Edward's brother, when my parent's died, I had no other choice than to move in with my Uncle" she said.

"What about a husband?" the Sheriff asked.

"I have not yet found a husband" she replied.

Daisy did not like the gleam that appeared in the Sheriff's eye once she had answered his question.

"What do you think Gisbourne, will she do for you?" he asked.

Gisbourne stared at her up and down and Daisy felt herself slowly getting angrier and angrier.

"She is no beauty" he replied at long last.

The Sheriff laughed "turned down by Gisbourne I'm afraid".

"If I may Sheriff, if I am lucky enough to marry, it will be for love only" she said proudly.

The Sheriff frowned "I see you have a bit of a mouth on you as well" he said.

Her Uncle jumped up "I apologise for her My Lord".

The Sheriff waved him off grumpily "I expect to see her in the castle more often and for gods sake don't keep her locked up in the house".

Both Daisy and her Uncle nodded.

"Well, leave, now! Gisbourne I believe you can escort Miss Cossu home separately, give her a tour of the villages if you will" said the Sheriff sternly.

Daisy could do nothing but be led away by Gisbourne as her Uncle was escorted back to the carriage. As they neared the stables, Gisbourne grabbed her arm harshly and forced her to face him.

"Do you have any experience riding a horse or are you going to be a problem?" he asked harshly.

"I have been riding since I was a small child, now I shall ask you to unhand me" she replied in a deadly voice.

They rode in silence, Gisbourne pointing out several villages along the way and moaning loudly about the poverty all around them. Daisy flexed her arms as they rode, they already hurt from where Gisbourne grabbed her and would no doubt bruise.

They dismounted for a tour of Locksley village, which Daisy quickly learnt was Gisbourne's pride and joy, having claimed it from Robin Hood. It was quite a quaint village, the people seemed to be faring well but there was clear fear in their eyes when Gisbourne walked past. Daisy wished she could talk to the villagers but knew that would be frowned upon by Gisbourne, so she settled for discreetly smiling at them.

When they reached Locksley Manor, Daisy noticed the horses had been led to some towers of hay and were happily munching away. Gisbourne led her into the Manor and then turned on her, much like he'd done when he asked if she could ride. He grabbed both her forearms and pushed her backwards. His nails – unusually sharp for a male – cut into her arms despite her long dress sleeves and made her wince painfully.

"Sir Guy what are you doing?" she asked timidly.

"You live with Marion and she is…resistant to my advances. You can persuade her that a union with me will be beneficial to all" he hissed.

"Marion does not listen to what I say" replied Daisy.

She was not quite ready for his response but she felt the pain and sting from the slap that she received. The taste of blood on her lip was enough for her to realise that if he wanted, Sir Guy could do some serious damage to her.

"You will make her listen if you know what's good for you" he growled.

"You do not control me" she replied.

He pressed his nails into her skin with more force and she felt the pain as cuts were created, she needed to get out from there. Using what little strength she had, she managed to break free of his grip, ran all the way to the horse and sped off on horseback before Gisbourne could call her back.

In hindsight it probably wasn't a good idea to gallop off into a forest she didn't know. She knew she looked a fright from her split lip to the tears rolling down her face to the bleeding crimson nail marks that she could now see appearing through the sleeves of her forest green dress.

She was further convinced that her ill thought escape plan was bad when a tall menacing man with a long wooden stick stepped out in front of her. This made her horse rear up and had her clinging on for dear life.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing in the woods alone?" he asked.

Daisy assumed he couldn't see her distress or that he didn't care about it.

"Running away" she replied.

"Surely you must have some money if you're running away. You look like you have a nice fortune sitting at home and your money would be better spent on the poor. If you hand it over now, they'll be no need for trouble".

Daisy was not afraid of this man but she was quite afraid of what he could do. Just then several others appeared from nowhere; a brown haired chap with a grumpy expression, a dark haired man with a moustache and a smiling small dark skinned, dark haired woman who seemed to be masquerading as a boy.

"Honestly John" said the woman "can't you see she'd injured and you harassing her isn't going to do her any good".

"You can get down off your horse Miss, we won't harm you, we're Robin Hood's men" said the kind man with the moustache.

Daisy slowly dismounted her horse and reached within her cloak to retrieve a small ouch of coins she'd bought with her that day.

"Oh no Miss, you must keep your money" said the woman.

Daisy smiled "I am presently unable to help the poor as I would like. Please accept this money, I know that it will do a lot of good in your hands.

"We will accept it if you let us tend to your injuries" said the moustache man.

"You must allow us to blindfold you and lead both you and your horse there. It's a precaution we have" said the big stick wielding man.

"You're joking, we're really going to help her?!" asked the grumpy looking man.

The man with the stick merely glared at him and that seemed enough to get him to shut up.

"That is if you have time to be spared. It would not do if any of us were caught" said the woman.

"It is barely past noon and I was expected to be gone all day. I do not know of what trouble awaits my return and would rather put it off as long as possible" said Daisy.

She mounted her horse and bent forward to allow them to blindfold her with some thick coarse material. It was a quiet walk to their intended destination. Daisy suspected that they didn't want to draw attention to themselves and didn't want their voices of movements to help make the journey memorable for Daisy. She was also fairly certain that she was being led to one of many bases and certainly wasn't being led to their main camp.

When they came to the end of their journey a new voice joined them moaning profusely about what Robin would say and they stopped so Daisy could dismount her horse. When they entered, Daisy immediately recognised that they were underground. They removed her blindfold and Daisy enjoyed several curious seconds of looking around before her vision was blocked by another body.

"Daisy?" asked Robin.

"You know her?" the others chorused.

Robin nodded "she's Marion's cousin" he said, offering no further explanation.

"Why were you in the woods?" he asked.

"It started with Marion".

"Marion did this to you?" asked Robin sceptically.

Daisy glared at him "if you would listen to my story I shall tell it to you. Firest though, would you please tell me your names? It is disconcerting referring to you all in my ead via your looks".

Robin glared playfully at the others "so you managed to get her gold but not introduce yourselfs".

"I gave my gold freely Robin" said Daisy.

He smiled at her his eyes soft. Daisy starred back a few moments before she allowed the woman to lead her away. Sitting down she braced herself for the pain that would come from treating her wounds.

"Allow me to introduce my men" said Robin as he pointed to them in turn "my faithful friend Much, Allan, Will, Little John and the woman tending to you is Djac".

Daisy was glad she could now put names to the faces before her, though she was a little weary at John who was by no means 'little'.

Daisy hissed in pain as Djac rolled up her sleeves exposing the half-moon cuts upon her forearms and the bruises appearing just above. She sighed shrugging off Djac's apology.

She felt Robin's eyes glaring at her injuries and thought she best explain how she got them.

"My predicament started when Marion thought it best to sacrifice another in order to continue to remain innocent. You see I have strong belief about helping the poor and due to the beliefs of my parents – who have now passed – my Uncle thought it best that I be confined to the house. He didn't want to give the Sheriff an opportunity to use me as an example I guess. Then Marion let slip that I was being hidden and suddenly the Sheriff wanted to see me".

She paused as Djac rubbed something in her wounds that made her eyes water.

"I did not understand the Sheriff's sudden desire to meet me but could do nothing other than comply. I think I only made but a small impression on the Sheriff and Gisbourne assured me that Marion shone brightest – beauty has never been my thing anyway. Next thing the Sheriff was ordering Gisbourne to show me around the surrounding villages. I would have preferred to explore myself and get to know the people but I did my best not to speak my mind. Everything was fine until we reached Locksley Manor and he turned on me" said Daisy.

"He caused your injuries?" said Allan incredulously.

"You sound surprised, from everything I've heard of Gisbourne he acted as I suspected. Gisbourne wishes to wed Marion but she is not…responding to his advances. He wishes for me to change her mind on the matter and when I refuse he told me that I had better do as I was told or my life would be in danger".

Daisy could tell that Robin was displeased by the news – both Gisbourne's intentions and his actions towards Daisy. Though Daisy did not know the true extent of his feelings towards Marion, she hoped that he got out of her tangled web soon. Even as children, Marion had had a way of manipulating and controlling events to suit her own purpose. Daisy just hoped Marion's desire to help the poor was real and not just another ploy to gain something she wanted, with Marion it was hard to tell.

Djac had finished treating her wounds. Her forearms were wrapped in bandages that would be hidden below her sleeves but also allow her wounds to breathe and heal. Djac had added some sort of salve to her cut lip and though it didn't smell particularly good, it was making the pain fade away.

Daisy thanked the woman with a pat on the hand and a meaningful glance. In return she was rewarded wth a genuine smile which lit up Djac's face.

"I fear I have intruded upon your generosity long enough. There are countless others out there that need your help more than I and I don't wish to deprive them of their crowned hope. Come it is getting late, blindfold me, lead me out and let me be on my way" she said formally.

"Her I like" said John as he re-tied her blindfold back on.

Once they were a substantial distance away they removed the blindfold and allowed her to mount her horse. Just before she had ridden too far to see them Robin called out to her.

"Now you are no longer on house arrest will we see more of you?" he asked.

"We'll see" she replied.

*-..-*

Once she had arrived back at her Uncle's house she was rather out of breath having galloped so fast upon her horse. Walking slowly into the house her senses were on high alert but everything seemed as it should.

"You're back later than I thought, did you have a nice exploration of the villages?" asked her Uncle as he unexpectedly appeared behind her.

"It was most enjoyable Uncle and Sir Guy of Gisbourne was the perfect hose to accompany me" replied Daisy cordially.

"Right, very well. I think perhaps you took a little tired, maybe you should retire for the night" said Uncle.

"I do feel rather exhausted, perhaps you are right. Uncle I shall have a small mouth to eat and then I shall retire for the night" said Daisy.

"Do not forget to wish goodnight to Marion Daisy" said her Uncle.

"Of course not Uncle" replied Daisy.


End file.
